FRANKFURT, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Germany's benchmark DAX index surged to a new all-time intraday high on Thursday, trading amid signs that the bullish trends at the stock market are going on.
The DAX index reached 25,217.52 points after surpassing the key threshold of 25,000 points for the first time in history on Wednesday.
German shares have climbed in the first week of trading in the new year despite heightened global geopolitical tensions. The DAX index has already notched four new record highs in 2026, extending a bullish trend that began in the second half of 2022.
Thursday's rally was fueled by the stronger-than-expected incoming orders for the manufacturing sector. New orders rose by 5.6 percent in November compared with October, according to official data.
"It is finally good news for the industry again," Marc Schattenberg, an economist from Deutsche Bank Research, was quoted as saying by German media.
The DAX, seen as a barometer of the German economy, has been on a strong upward trajectory since the second half of 2022. The index gained 23 percent in 2025, 18.85 percent in 2024, and 20.3 percent in 2023, reflecting investor optimism despite Germany's faltering economic performance.
A December forecast by the German central bank projected that recovery would remain subdued early in 2026, with stronger growth expected only from the second quarter.
A major reason for the disconnection between the DAX and the national economy is the global reach of DAX-listed firms. Nearly all DAX constituents are large multinationals with operations worldwide.
The market rally has coincided with a notable shift in public sentiment toward stock trading. Traditionally seen as risk-averse, German retail investors - especially younger ones - have increasingly become shareholders in recent years.
Some 12.1 million people in Germany, or 17.2 percent of the total population, were investing in equity funds, ETFs or shares in 2024, according to the German institute Deutsches Aktieninstitut.
As the DAX index is hovering around record highs, the latest survey published by Deutsche Boerse on Wednesday showed diverging views between institutional and retail investors. The share of institutional investors with a bearish outlook rose by six percent compared with the previous survey, while 56 percent of private investors are now on the bullish side.
